The “Bulletin on U.S. Domestic Militarization” replaces “The 1033 Monthly.” This iteration aims to provide a broader look at militarization in the United States, of which the U.S. Department of Defense’s 1033 program plays a role.

The internal war in the United States continues on the working class and on people outside the point of production, such as the poor and others unable to work. As the cost of living continues to rise, so does the budget for policing. This serves as a painful reminder that the U.S. government is less concerned with meeting the needs of people living within its illegitimate borders and more concerned with protecting the property and capital of the ruling class. In the last year alone, police killed 1,185 people in the United States, with African/Black people accounting for 26 percent of those murdered.

The United States currently operates an estimated 800 to 1,000 military bases across the globe. Likewise, U.S. police forces, such as the New York Police Department, have international outposts in more than 12 countries, in cities such as Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv, Paris and London. That these outposts have been deemed necessary for “counter-terrorism” should raise eyebrows for anyone familiar with the ongoing struggle in Atlanta against a $90 million police-training facility dubbed “Cop City.” It is no mistake that a terrorism law passed after a white supremacist murdered nine African/Black churchgoers in South Carolina is being weaponized to repress activists and organizers.

“Terrorism,” in the eyes of bourgeois law, includes the activity of climate activists, reproductive-rights activists, anti-fascists and those who oppose racial capitalism. This information should leave little doubt in anyone’s mind about the international character of our struggle against the domestic occupying force known as the police. 

No Compromise, No Retreat!
Research and Political Education Team
Black Alliance for Peace


MILITARIZATION NEWS

The Most Militarized Local Police Departments in America

  • This article dives into the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency’s reporting to evaluate which police departments receive the most in military equipment through the federal 1033 program.

  • Most notably, the city that has received the most in military surplus equipment (on record) is Sacramento, California. The $8.3 million acquisition includes a utility helicopter and excavation equipment.

  • Equipment that appears to correlate to higher amounts in surplus received are mine-resistant vehicles, helicopters, and trucks.

Check Out Which Coastal Georgia Police Departments Have Federal Military Equipment

  • This article evaluates the specific types of equipment and materials that Georgia police departments use and procure through the 1033 program.

  • A clear breakdown is provided of items Georgia police departments have received, including equipment acquired by leveraging 1033.

  • The logic of using military equipment as a means of helping combat climate change continues to be a logic levied by police departments, even if they do not acknowledge any clear applications that necessitate mine-resistant vehicles, for instance.

ADDITIONAL STORIES

Banner photo: Atlanta police detain demonstrators on May 30, 2020. (Associated Press/Mike Stewart)